Long Island-Iced Tea
by PennyNamette
Summary: (summary change) After reconnecting with his friend Kouga, Inuyasha decides to move in with him and work with him as a Bartender. Then he notices how good Kouga looks in his uniform, and wow that neighbor Miroku is really quiet attractive, and that boss Sesshomaru is- a totally fucking jackass. But maybe he still likes him a little regardless? inucest
1. Bartender

Chapter 1:

Inuyasha was woken up quit suddenly one Monday evening to the annoying loud Alarm of his cell. The one he specifically put so that he could wake up on time, but either Inuyasha didn't care or didn't remember, as he groaned, grabbed his phone tight, and chucked it hard into the closet where it found its new home in a pile of clothes that did well to block out it's persistent beeping.

He exhaled deeply and burrowed back into his sheets, easily falling back into a sleep. Besides, he had no reason to be getting up; he couldn't even remember why he set that alarm. The only thing he needed to be up for was-

Shooting up at the speed of light, he scrambled out of bed to the closet, fishing out the phone he cast away a moment before. He clicked at buttons until the screen lite up in response, casting back in large font the time.

8:47

"Shit!," he spat under his breath, throwing the phone behind him and digging his way through the pile of clothes under him, searching for something decent to where.

Jesus- Why hadn't he washed any of his clothes!?

A knock resounded at the front of his apartment and in response Inuyasha groaned. "Hold on!" He shouted back.

He finally acquired jeans and a half-sleeved shirt that smelled, uh, _decent_ at best. But he wasn't going to get picky about it in these conditions. He dresses, retrieved his satchel (satchel's are manly), and headed to the door just as the second round of aggressive knocking began.

Standing behind the door stood his trusty sidekick, Kagome Higurashi, in her signature Hand on her Hips pose with the all famous Look of Disapproval. She even went a step further this time, adding "impatient foot-tapping" as a bonus.

He sighed, not wanting a lecture on being on time _again_ and walked past her to the steps that lead to the parking lot, to where her car was parked.

"Inuyasha!," she called behind before catching up with him, her face saying he was still going to get that lecture, despite his efforts. "What did I tell you!? I said to be ready! And what the hell are you wearing?" she shot at him, eyeing up his clothing and successfully making him feel self-conscious.

"What? I was trying to hurry!" he defended, climbing into the passenger seat of Kagome's car. She rolled her eyes and rived up the engine, pulling out of his drive way and onto the road.

"This isn't high school, Inuyasha; this is your job we're talking about here. And your first day! Is that the kind of impression that you want to leave on your boss? A high school punk?" She kept on. Kagome was the type of person who didn't drop a topic until finally her victim broke down and admitted she was right, whether or not she really was. But Inuyasha had waaaaay to much pride to do that, so he usually just let her ramble and complain. Maybe that was why their friendship worked. He presented an endless challenge

"Listen, it doesn't matter how I show up dressed, Okay? They said they would supply me with my own work clothes, so see? Problem solved."

Sighing in answer, Kagome took a moment of silence and finally asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," He reassured her, ignoring his inner reeling at her relenting argument.

"Alright, if you say so," She said, but he saw she was biting her cheek, meaning she highly doubted it. "It's just that, this is your first job, _ever_, and it'd really suck if you got fired on the first day you know?" She glanced at him, and seeing in her eyes he had no doubt that she was honestly concerned for him. She always was and always will be, he thinks. She was like a pseudo-mother of kinds.

"I understand, 'gome. I promise, I'll try my hardest not to fuck this up, Okay?" He says just as she pulls up into the parking lot of his destination. He holds up his pinky finger to her and wiggles it, a crooked smile on his face. Although she tries, Kagome can't keep her stern face on for long and, smiling back at him, she wraps her pinky around his. "Okay."

"Thanks, I'll tell you all about my day later. And thanks for the ride, I really appreciate it," he thanked climbing out of the car. Just as he was about to close the door and walk away, he heard Kagome call from inside.

"Yeah?"

"Inuyasha, is this- is this a club?"

He looked back behind himself, at the neon sign and the loud music booming inside, and back to Kagome. "Yeah, it is."

"Your… not going to be working here, are you?"

"Yeah, I am."

"…"

"As of today, Kagome, you're looking at Inuyasha, The bartender!"

He savored a moment of her confused, exasperated expression, and then waved good-bye, shutting the door and making his way to his new job.

* * *

There was one reason and one reason alone that Inuyasha decided to bartend. It wasn't because he had a fascination with hard beverages, or some bullshit, movie like revelation of a dream needing to be fulfilled. No, as a Matter-of-Fact, the reason is a lot simpler and can be explained in a single name.

Kouga Hidano

A few years back, when Inuyasha had was going to community college, Kouga had been his classmate in computer technology. And while Inuyasha blossomed in the subject, Kouga was… less so.

And basically, he'd thought him too hot not to help out, and thus began their Help-me-to-Help-you friendship, as Kouga was surprisingly nerdy in English, a subject which still haunts Inuyasha to this day. Together, they each passed both subjects with flying colors and gained the ever special reward of friendship, lasting for years.

Until, that is, Kouga dropped an unexpected bomb.

"You're WHAT!?" Inuyasha had shouted making Kouga flinching at the sudden volume of his voice, briefly worrying about the possibility of the neighbors calling the cops if things got out of hand.

"Inuyasha, calm down," he held his palms up in a way one might to a stressed animal. "Me moving out isn't the end of the world. It's for the better!"

"Better what!?" He ran his hand through his bangs, a sign of irritation for Inuyasha. "Why would you want to move out? Is it something I did? I swear, I'll start picking up my dirty clothes, it's not a big deal!"

"No, Inuyasha, it's not about that," He sat down on the floor, his back to the bed Inuyasha sat on. A dreamy misty look was in his eyes and Inuyasha knew instantly what it was about.

"You're going back to college, aren't you? To be a professor." Kouga's silence was answer enough.

"Kouga!," Inuyasha groaned, but was interrupted by Kouga's raised hand.

"Inuyasha, you know it's been my dream to be an English professor for years, this shouldn't surprise you"

"Yeah, but those were just, you know, dreams. You were never supposed to actually go back to school!"

He drug his hands again through his bangs, glaring at the wall next to him and missing Kouga's hurt expression.

"So, you never believed for to me to be able to follow my dreams?"

"No it's not like that… Kouga," he continued to stare at the wall, a sigh falling past his lips, focusing on a time sense past. "People like us don't _get_ to follow our dreams."

He was brought out of his musing by the rush of clothing next to him, as Kouga stood up. Inuyasha was honestly surprised to see Kouga looking angrier then he'd ever seen him before.

"That's really fucked up, Inuyasha." He'd said, his voice sounding calm while his whole body was tensed. "I can follow whatever dreams I choose, and it's really fucked up you won't support me on this just because _you're_ a lazy douche-bag whose sole income depends on how many computer break in the neighborhood."

Inuyasha flinched at his insult, hurt because he knew it was true, and also because Kouga had told it was cool. "I didn't mean it like that, I-,"

"No," he interrupted, grabbing a bag Inuyasha noticed was full. "I was going to leave in two weeks and have my stuffed shipped, but you know what? Fuck you. Fuck this apartment, Fuck you, _fuck you_."

For a moment they stared at each other in silence, Kouga's stare filled with anger and Inuyasha's wide-eyed and disbelieving. Inuyasha looked down first.

"I'll send someone for my stuff later," Kouga muttered, walking out the door, not once looking back at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha sat there for a long time, long after the sound of the front door slamming had left his ears.

A couple years went by and he never heard of Kouga again, and given time he started to see the situation from Kouga's perspective. What kind of friend even _said _shit like he did? He was supposed to help him, not make things that much harder for him. And he always wanted to take it back, and say he was sorry and have his best buddy back but he was never found out where he lived, or how he could contact him. Until one day, when Kouga messaged _him._

That day, when he sat down with his laptop and saw he got an IM from Kouga, he almost thought it was joke. But sure enough, it was the old wolf, casually saying _"What's up?"_

He smiled, and replied back with their old joke, "_The ceiling, Duh._"

"_So, how's it been mutt?"_

"_I should be the one asking you that question, you're the college boy. Forget me, how's school been?"_

"_Same as ever, ain't gonna change just cause I'm there. But actually, it's great. I feel like I'm actually getting somewhere, you know?"_

"_Yeah... no, actually. It must be great though."_ An empty feeling grew inside him at hearing about Kouga's success. He hadn't dropped out, and he was actually carrying on with what he wanted, and he was happy, really, but...

"_What's up man?" _ Kouga asked, using that sixth sense of friendship that had never died out even after so much time.

"_It's nothing, don't worry about it."_

"_Are you still mad about last time? I mean, I know it was a really bad falling out but-"_

"_It's not that, promise."_

"_So what is it? Don't lie to me man, we're bros. Bros don't keep bros in the dark."_

"_...It's just that, I don't know, You're moving on and I'm still stuck here... fixing computers for a living."_

"_Well, haven't you always wanted to study computer programming and what not?"_

"_Yeah, but I can't do that. You were able to, but I just can't, ya know"_

"_No, I don't"_

"_How am I going to go to school? I have no money, I don't even know the first thing about applying, and my grades from high school sucked-"_

"_So did mine, but here I am."_

"_I know but-"_

"_Listen. Come move out here with me."_

Inuyasha froze his fingers over his keyboard, taking in what Kouga was asking him. He wanted to him to move out with him...

"_Are you serious?"_

"_Yeah, man. We can be roomies again, like old times. I can even hook you up with a job at the place I work at. We'll see if I can convince you or not what you 'can' and 'can't' do. What do you say?"_

He gave himself a moment to think things over, but in the end he knew what he wanted and wasted no time making up his mind.

"_What's my new job?"_

* * *

Inside, the club smelled of sweat and alcohol and instantly stung his nose. Strobe lights stretched over the roof, flashing vomit-inducing colors and the floor was covered with half-naked bodies, dancing together in a mesh of limbs and hair.

He would be lying if he said none of it made him the slightest bit nervous. Having been used to the comfort of his room for the past three or so years, and such a... _public _place made him feel out of place, and he stood there awkwardly until a hand grabbed his arm.

There he was, looking the same as he did when they roomed together. Kouga, looking stylish in a waistcoat and bowtie.

"Well, aren't you looking dapper as fuck?"

Kouga chuckled and pushed on his shoulder, leading him to the back where the Staff Lounge was. "This is the employee universe man, you're going to have t look 'dapper', too"

"What, seriously?"

"Yes, seriously."

He didn't want to believe him, but he had no choice when Kouga picked up a pile of clothes labeled 'new guy' and handed them over. He sighed and Kouga laughed again, and dropped a hand onto his shoulder.

"Welcome to the Club, bro."

A/N: My brain was all over the place while writing this, so please forgive me If it's like, really bad. I will do better, I promise.

This story was written for KAYBOP1 as a challenge, and I hope she likes it, and hope you all enjoy it.


	2. On The Job

Chapter 2:

Bartending was a lot harder than he first figured it might be.

First, there were the people. They were loud, demanding, and there was just to damn many of them. Then he had to mix the drinks- which he had no idea what to do. Come to think of it, it was pretty stupid to take a bartending job without knowing how to mix drinks. Kouga was doing his best to teach him on the spot, but he was a slow learner and it just made the customers more loud, and more demanding.

He thought it was going to be like in the movies, all flipping bottles like ninjas and serving hotties Ginatonics. It was nothing like the movies.

"This blows," He huffed when the counter was clear of customers and he was able to lean back and take a breather.

Kouga came and leaned against the counter next to him, chuckling softly. "Yeah, first times always rough, but it gets easier so don't sweat it."

He groaned dramatically, sliding down until his elbows supported him on the counter. "I want it to be easier _now_." Kouga laughed out loud, bouncing off the back counter to greet a customer walking up. Inuyasha smirked, remembering how much he missed how Kouga laughed. It was both open and hardy, and always seemed to brighten his mood, even when it was drowning in exhaustion from a job he hyped up way to intensely.

He watched silently as Kouga prepared a Hemingway Daiquiri for the woman that ordered. He worked quick, body motions sliding into another easy, like clockwork. It was better than watching all those fancy moves those fake bartenders did on television, it was more elegant, natural, and more real. Also, he never noticed how well Kouga looked in his bartending uniforms.

The waist coat he was sporting hugged at his waist, wrinkle free, and high-lighted out how fit Kouga was under all the clothes. And his jaw line was long, prominent, just like how he remembered. And when Kouga smiled when the woman thanked him, the one that was him wiggle sometimes, he realized that he was staring and he actually _was_ wiggling.

He blushed, glancing about to make sure no one saw him act like a school-girl and _why_ was he acting like a school-girl anyway? Sure, Kouga was attractive, but he'd always known that. What was different now?

The phone rang beneath the counter, and Kouga reached under and pulled the phone to his ear, answering "Hello, West-side Club, How can I help- Oh, hey Boss."

And just like that, Inuyasha's head snapped forward, all attention on Kouga and person he just got on the phone with. He hadn't met his boss yet- honestly he hadn't even thought about his boss yet. Everything was happening in the now and he didn't think about anything else he'd have to face in this job but now that he was... he was a bit anxious.

"Yeah he came in today." Him, 'he' him? as in Inuyasha him?

"Yeah he's doing great, picks up on all the drink mixes and is great with all the customers." That was a lie, dear god was that a lie.

Inuyasha straightened up when he saw that Kouga burrowed his eyebrows and took a quick glance back at him. "Uh, well... He's still trying to get used to everything, so if it isn't inconvenient, maybe tomorrow?"

Tomorrow? Tomorrow for what?

It was a small moment before Kouga let out a breath and thanked their boss on the other line, before he hung up and sighed, rolling his shoulder to try to relax. Inuyasha hadn't even noticed he'd tensed up.

He came up next to Kouga, who was intensely staring at the counter as he wiped it down with a cloth. That didn't set well with him, and his stomach turned just a little with apprehension.

"What's happening tomorrow?"

"Oh, well, you have to meet him." Kouga said quickly, still staring at the table. Inuyasha was pretty sure the counter was clean enough to eat off of, but Kouga scrubbed it down as if it was covered in bile. He grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, trying to look him in the eyes but Kouga pointedly kept his on his on the crowd.

"Why aren't you looking at me? Kouga, why is that bad? You're freaking me out."

"No, it's not bad it's just," He sighed and threw down the cleaning cloth, conceding and turning to Inuyasha. "The boss... he's kind of a hard ass."

"Well that's no problem, I've dealt with hard asses before."

"No, dude, you don't understand, he's _vicious_." He shook his head, switching his attention briefly to a new customer wanting three Cherry Cordials and turned back to Inuyasha as soon as he gave the man his drinks and accepted his cash. "When he's in the room, the temperature drops ten degrees, that dude's a freaking ghost."

Inuyasha snorted. "Come on, you're exaggerating." Nobody was _that_ intimidating. He laughed, right until he saw that Kouga staring at him, straight-faced and humorless.

"I'm serious, Inuyasha. As a heart-attack. When you see him tomorrow, make sure you behave." Kouga patted him on the shoulder as Inuyasha stared back at him, confused and a little stunned at how serious he was.

The boss couldn't possibly be that bad.

Could he?

:::::

"What does he even mean!" Inuyasha groaned, sliding down in the passenger's seat of Kagome's care as she drove him home. He called her when his shift was over, at a solid three in the morning, while she was still in he Pj's. She wasn't all that happy about it, but nonetheless came and picked him up. "'Behave'? Behave how?"

"I seriously don't know, and I probably won't know until until at least seven with a black coffee, so please don't quiz me," Kagome said, her voice lagging from exhaustion. She yawned, long and hard, and said, "In any case, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Every employee is nervous when it concerns their boss, they make them feel constantly under threat of being fired."

That actually made sense. Inuyasha sat up straighter, burrowing his eyebrows as he thought about it and felt a little bit of the pressure release from himself. Kagome was probably right- Kouga was overreacting. He didn't have anything to worry about, all he need to do was make sure he was respectful and himself, and he'd be fine. "You're right.

Pulling up to a stop in front of his apartment building, She slide into a stop and reached over to pat him on the theigh, smiled, and said, "I know I am. Now go get some rest okay, you have a sleeping schedule to get a handle on."

"Ha, fine, and you get back to bed, too, you look _terrible_. I'll take the bus from now on so you can get some beauty sleep." He laughed when she slapped his arm, giggling herself. They nodded to each other and he stepped out of her car, and waved goodbye as she drove off down the road.

Now that he was alone, he started to feel the wear and tear of having a foot-job in his bones and muscles, and all he really wanted was to strip down to his boxers, snuggle up in his favorite spider-man blanket, and knock the fuck out.

So he trudged his way up three flights of stairs, and down the porch-way to the last apartment- his apartment- on that floor. And right as he was passing the apartment neighboring his, that door swung open and inside came a loud, cheerful, "Hello!"

Jumping back, Inuyasha clutched his chest, feeling like he narrowly avoided a heart-attack. "Oh dear lord!" He shouted. The guy staying in the apartment next over pounded on the door, yelling form inside, "SHUT UP, PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP." but Inuyasha barely noticed as he was still caught up in his near death experience. In the doorway there stood the man who nearly scared him to death, with jet-black hair haphazard on his head and around his cheeks and eye's so gray they looked off-violet. He was his height, and pale, and Inuyasha felt felt his heart skip a beat at the sudden beauty in front of him.

Mystery man smiled, one that was crooked and just so perfect, Inuyasha thought, and he said "I was oping to catch you on your way in! I heard you just moved in and I wanted to welcome you. I'm Miroku, pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand, which Inuyasha carefully shook, still wary of this new man, now known as Miroku. As he shook his hand he slowly relaxed and straightened himself up, smiling and saying, "I'm uh, I'm Inuyasha, thanks."

A/N: Sorry, this is really really short, but I needed to crunch something out, ya know. I hope it's okay, and next chapter Sesshomaru will join into the story~


End file.
